Encounter
by lalalei
Summary: Megaman's first encounter with Protoman post-conversion in "The Beginning" was a war of words, not blaster fire. Ruby-Spears cartoonverse.


It had been three days since Rock was converted into Megaman. He was still getting used to walking around in the heavy titanium armor, and he had yet to fire his plasma cannon except in training exercises—though he'd quickly grown used to his new name, at least. He was still on alert in case Dr. Wily returned to the lab to finish what he started, even if Dr. Light assured him Rush's nose could sniff out any sign of trouble.

But most of all, Megaman was adjusting to his new role as a hero, and what that meant for him and his family. He'd readily agreed to the idea of becoming a robot warrior for justice, and there was no way he could back down with Dr. Light, and the world, counting on him. Roll had been in favor of it since the beginning, seeming to romanticize the idea. A superhero, she'd called him. She'd even modified her Utility Arm to aid him in battle. But was she ready to combat Wily like she said?

For that matter, was _he_?

Megaman knew fighting against Wily meant that eventually, he would have to fight the robots the doctor stole—his brothers, in a sense. That prospect was hard to swallow; though he'd never really gotten to know Cutman, Gutsman, or Iceman before they were reprogrammed and turned on his family, he felt a degree of protectiveness towards them. At least, he felt he _should_ feel that way, even though they'd shown no mercy in kidnapping him and his sister and threatening Light on the way out. Even if they didn't seem to consider him a sibling.

But he knew there was one robot under Wily's employ that _did_ consider him a sibling, and he felt even more conflicted about him than the others.

"Maybe I'm thinking too hard about this," he mused to himself, stopping his pacing around the lab. He turned to Dr. Light, who was bent over the table working on Rush. Roll, for the moment, was in her room, and Eddie was safely recharging, but Megaman didn't feel like staying indoors. He needed open space to reflect on his thoughts.

"Doc," he called, "I'm headed out for some air. I promise to be back before midnight, and I won't wander too far off."

"Alright. Be careful, Mega," his father said with a wave. Doc the Metool let out a chirp goodbye, and Megaman waved back, smiling.

"Don't worry," he replied, confident. "I'll be careful."

#######

The sun was setting as Mega left the lab, the vivid orange glow strong enough for him to shield his eyes briefly. When his sight adjusted, he stared at the hand he'd used to cover his face. It was his left hand, his plasma cannon hand. Megaman formed his buster, raised the cannon, tried to imagine firing it at opponents instead of targets. It was hard to picture until he thought of them doing wrong, putting people in danger. Then it was all too easy—though he still felt reluctant when imagining one of the former Lightbots harming innocents.

"Maybe it'll be easier to fight them once I'm actually _in _combat…or maybe I should've listened more closely to Dr. Light explaining the reprogramming process," Mega sighed, letting his cannon shift back to a hand.

What he _did_ remember consisted of Light explaining that while a basic reprogramming could be used for simple system and hardware modifications—if, for example, a robot's guidance or ethical system was faulty—a more thorough scan like Wily's device or a manual reprogramming could alter the _foundations_ of the robot's personality as well, removing or replacing elements as the programmer wished. It would be suppressing whomever the robot once was at best, outright destroying them at worst.

Dr. Light had been very saddened at the thought, which was part of why the memory was hard to recall. The thought of his creator in pain hurt deeply, and the implications of what Wily had done had shaken Mega, as well. If Cutman, Gutsman, and Iceman had been _thoroughly_ reprogrammed…they would fight as hard as if they had never known him.

Mega stretched as the memories faded, and cast his eyes to the path ahead of him. Without knowing, he had made his way near the city park, which was closed to the public for renovation; the workers, too, had left by that point. Seeing no humans around, Megaman raised his left hand and formed it into his blaster once more, letting it glint in the light. He turned to the sky and the setting sun without wincing, and then gazed at the weapon, at its barrel. Knowing what the plasma within could do to robots. Knowing what it, and he, could _have _to do.

"If Dr. Light's robots are really gone," he murmured, "I'll have no choice _but_ to fight."

A low snicker made him stop cold. "Gettin' sentimental, brother?"

Megaman knew that voice. He whipped around. "Protoman!"

"In the metal," the red and grey robot sneered, stepping out from behind a lamppost. "It's been awhile, Rock."

"The name's Megaman," the hero corrected, pointing his blaster at his enemy.

"Megaman? Nah. Mega-_dweeb_'s more like it."

Protoman approached him casually, his own blaster still unformed, left hand remaining at his side as he walked.

"So you've got yourself some armor and a plasma cannon to match. Can't say I'm impressed—do you even know how to _use_ the thing," Proto asked, pointing at where Mega's left hand used to be.

"Of course I do," Megaman retorted, a bit too quickly.

"Do you know how to _wield_ it, then? They're not toys, you know. They're _weapons_."

As if to emphasize his point, Protoman spun on his heel, readied his blaster, and fired at the same lamppost he'd been hiding behind. Blue, crackling plasma placed a serious dent in the metal and caused it to topple over, missing Megaman by inches.

"…Maybe not—not in real combat, anyway. But I know _why_ I'm wielding it," Mega started, resolute.

Before he could continue, Protoman interrupted. "That mean you're thinking about Dr. Wily's generous offer?"

"To help him conquer the world and enslave humanity?" Megaman spat, his disgust at the prospect clear.

"Not _just_ to conquer the world," Proto grinned, wagging a finger. "It's also the opportunity to be my brother in battle. I could teach you how to _use_ those powers of yours, and together, nothing could stop us. Not even Dr. Light."

"There's no way I'd turn on humanity, especially Dr. Light! It's _wrong_," Mega stated as if it were clearly obvious, his tone unyielding and firm.

Protoman was unmoved. "Sounds right to _me_, bro. And let me fill you in on a little secret: Those humans you're so protective of? Not all of them would agree with you."

Mega blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Humans can be bad too, little brother, and not just Wily. In fact…I'd say some would _agree_ with us, and what we're doing. Don't know how many there are, of course, but I know they're around, and we'll find 'em," Protoman finished with an easy smirk.

"I'm sure _many_ more people would agree with Dr. Light, Protoman. But if they did agree with Dr. Wily…I'd send them to jail, just like I would him," Megaman growled, trying to hide his unease.

Protoman ignored his words, continuing to tease him. "That's just cause Light says you can't harm humans, right? Must be tough living by all those rules and restrictions…"

Megaman was about to say that it was more that he didn't _want_ to harm any humans, but Proto continued.

"Mega, if you were with us, you wouldn't have to do _anything_ Light told you to do. What do you say? Join us, bro, and you can live free of any system of law and order."

"Your circuits must be loose if you think I'd agree to _that_," Mega retorted.

"Just agree to a reprogramming and it'd do the rest," Proto murmured, indifferent.

Megaman fired at him.

Golden plasma streaked from Mega's arm cannon in a split second. Protoman's nonchalant tone turned into a gasp of surprise, and he barely avoided the shot; it sizzled past him, almost scorching his scarf, then left a dented blast mark in the dirt. When the shock faded, Proto went right back to smirking.

"_Someone's_ touchy. Sad about Light's former robots? First off, don't bother trying to save 'em. Second, I'll let you know they're perfectly happy working for Dr. Wily."

To prove his point, Protoman turned to his wrist communicator and turned it on. "Right, guys?"

"Yeah," came the throaty voice of Gutsman. "We love workin' for Wily! Helping people is _boring_! I'd rather _smash_ 'em. And Wily lets me smash anything so long as it ain't important. We even get free room and board!"

Proto grinned. "Thought so. How 'bout you, Cutman?"

"Oh, yes! Dr. Wily's a _cut_ above the rest," the scissor-headed robot said with a pun, followed by a strained, wheezy laugh.

"Iceman?"

"Don't bug me, I'm busy helping Wily," the ice-themed robot rasped, closing the communications link himself.

Protoman smirked, the conversation explaining itself. He extended a hand to his brother, scarf ruffling in the wind. This moment, he knew, could change it all.

"And, well…you wouldn't even have to be reprogrammed. We would if we _had_ to, but I'd rather you joined us of your own free will. What do you say?"

Mega was silent; something in Protoman's words, his tone, triggered him.

"I…"

"Yes?"

Megaman suddenly remembered the full details of the conversation about reprogramming—and who they pertained to.

#######

_He had asked Light, with trepidation, what would happen if Wily turned the reprogramming device onto a robot like himself or Roll._

_Dr. Light had placed his hands on Mega's shoulders, meeting his gaze. "I don't quite know, Mega," he said at last. "I would hope such a thing would never happen…but if it did…I'd hope that it would simply override the coding for your creator, and not personality. I built you and Roll to be more advanced than Gutsman, Cutman, and Iceman. You in particular have self-determination. You can make your own choices, follow your own paths in life, and I believe that even if you were to obey someone else…deep down, you would retain who you truly are."_

"…_What about Protoman? He said we were built from the same plans, but he's definitely loyal to Wily. He's about as loyal to him as I am to you, Doc. What if someone tried to reprogram him?"_

"_I…I don't know him well enough to answer one way or the other. I suppose part of it would depend on the reprogrammer's values as well. There's a lot I _wish_ I knew about Protoman," Light added with a heavy shrug._

"_Could he be turned good," Mega asked simply._

"…_I truly don't know, Mega," Light sighed. "But I hope so."_

_#######_

Megaman didn't take Protoman's outstretched hand, but he didn't slap it away.

"Wait a second, Protoman. You've been asking me to join Wily all this time, but there's something very similar I could be asking you. How about if you joined Dr. Light and me?"

Protoman's smirk turned into a full-on grin. "Are _your_ circuits loose, brother? I'm programmed to be bad," he laughed, his tone revealing nothing.

"I'm serious, Protoman! We could be a real family, along with Roll, and we could help Dr. Light better humankind _and_ robotkind! We might be able to help the reprogrammed robots, we wouldn't have to harm or scare any other humans…and together we could help restore the world to peace."

Protoman grimaced. "You'd have to reprogram me to make me do _that_," he said with unambiguous disgust.

"Only if we had to," Megaman offered, turning his brother's words against him. "But I'd rather you joined us yourself. What do you say…brother?"

He extended his own hand.

Protoman fired at him.

Electric blue plasma shot out of his gun and impacted with the ground directly in front of Megaman, knocking him back and leaving a smoking crater in the dirt.

"What was th—" Mega was interrupted as another plasma shot sailed over his head, striking a tree in the distance.

Protoman turned away, glowering.

"_That_ was just a warning," he hissed.

"A warning about what," Mega asked, though he already knew.

Protoman's tone shifted to a casual one. "Next time, any offers will have to be in between plasma fire."

Mega readied his plasma cannon in case of a fight; Protoman smirked. "Yours too."

"I'm not giving up on you yet, bro, but I'm through asking you to join us nicely," Proto added, raising his own cannon til it was level with his brother's.

"And if you don't…" Proto began.

"If I don't?" Mega challenged.

"Then I'll _destroy_ you, Megaman. You're _my_ brother, and my responsibility to take down," Protoman finished with a tone dark as his smile.

He said nothing more after that; Protoman turned and headed in the direction he came from, lightly stepping over the fallen lamppost.

Megaman watched him leave, focusing on the colors of his brother's armor, then his scarf, until even his advanced eyesight could track him no longer.

The sun had fully set, and Megaman was completely alone.

As he turned down the road back to Dr. Light's lab, Megaman looked at where his brother had been. He glanced at his plasma cannon, then formed it back into his left hand, and clenched a fist.

"If you don't join me, I'll defeat you, but...I'm not giving up on you either, Protoman. You're _my_ brother too," he breathed.


End file.
